Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The YOG is not about Singapore

As stories about poor tickets sale of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) makes the rounds in Singapore, I have to say the poor sales comes as no surprise. I mean like I had said several times before on this blog; Singaporeans just don’t care about the YOG.

To avoid sounding like a broken record (yes, I know it may be a little too late), today I have a suggestion on how to improve Singapore’s love for the YOG. Have the news on television focus more on the actual sporting events!

If you turn on the news in Singapore or turn on Channelnewsasia, you will see as many stories on the superb organization (broken canvas roof not included), beauty and cleanliness of Singapore as you would on the achievements of the young sportsman in the YOG. Enough with all these self-congratulatory pats on the backs already, the YOG is (supposed to be) about the young athletes who would one day potentially be Olympic champions.

The YOG is about them, not the city of Singapore and it’s time the organizers recognized that. If you want people to be excited about the YOG, then stop trying to promote Singapore and start promoting the YOG. They are 2 different things.